Babel
Paramount Vantage | Release Date: October 27, 2006
6.7
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 870 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
558
Mixed:
105
Negative:
207
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
9
TracyR.Jan 30, 2007
Has some flaws, but does so much right that it gets the high score for intentions and for delivering some of the most stirring acting and beautiful cinematography to be seen in what has been a bad movie year. Two of the other best movies of Has some flaws, but does so much right that it gets the high score for intentions and for delivering some of the most stirring acting and beautiful cinematography to be seen in what has been a bad movie year. Two of the other best movies of the year (regardless of the Oscars) Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men also emanated out of Mexico and it's an extraordinary burst that should be treasured.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
CharlieC.Jan 29, 2007
This has got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. In fact I could not force myself to watch it all as it was so bad and had to leave the theatre. The individuals who put this together were trying to be too clever and all the end This has got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. In fact I could not force myself to watch it all as it was so bad and had to leave the theatre. The individuals who put this together were trying to be too clever and all the end up with is a load of BS. I believe all the rave reviewers are simply trying to jump on the band wagon and sounds very much like the Emperor having no clothes with no one wanting to admit that they are artistically not sophisticated enough to appreciate fine art.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
GregR.Jan 29, 2007
Don't try to "figure it out" as you watch, if you do, you will miss the whole meaning of the movie. Just go with it, the actual connections between the different groups of people and countries really doesn't matter anyway. Babel is Don't try to "figure it out" as you watch, if you do, you will miss the whole meaning of the movie. Just go with it, the actual connections between the different groups of people and countries really doesn't matter anyway. Babel is the best movie I've seen in a years.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
AnB.Jan 29, 2007
This was a criminal waste of talent. I absolutely hated this movie. It was beautiful, had great performances, was well directed and still was just awful. It was like watching Bobby Flay make a mud pie. I "got it" (who didn't, it was This was a criminal waste of talent. I absolutely hated this movie. It was beautiful, had great performances, was well directed and still was just awful. It was like watching Bobby Flay make a mud pie. I "got it" (who didn't, it was hardly subtle) and still hated it. I found it pretentious and really poorly written with lots of writing decisions made purely to make the story happen. It felt very forced and every few minutes I was assaulted by something grotesque and gratuitous (teenage bush, masturbating kids, my God!) Neary every other seen was based on improbable decisions or inserted for "gritty" shock value. I have a hard time believing this was written as a single piece, it feels like leftovers pushed togther and called a meal.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
BarbaraC.Jan 28, 2007
I left the movie theater feeling as if I wasted my money; And that there was a much to do about it as a whole. Although the acting was good in general I don't believe that we got a chance to see each character in full because the scenes I left the movie theater feeling as if I wasted my money; And that there was a much to do about it as a whole. Although the acting was good in general I don't believe that we got a chance to see each character in full because the scenes were so fractionalized. There were several scenes that could have been omitted and still told the story.....… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
MariaP.Jan 28, 2007
Stupid movie. nothing really ties together. emotionless. unessasary nudity. stupid stupid ending.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
MayaB.Jan 28, 2007
As a mexican, I´m supposed to be real glad this movie is up for the Oscars. I´m not. While others find it touching and human, I think it´s incredibly racist and elitist. No one seems to notice that, although all these As a mexican, I´m supposed to be real glad this movie is up for the Oscars. I´m not. While others find it touching and human, I think it´s incredibly racist and elitist. No one seems to notice that, although all these characters live through tragedy, the tragedies of the rich struck because of a bad twist of fate and turn out Ok in the end. Meanwhile, the poor live tragedies as a punishment for their stupid decisions: giving a rifle to children, taking your baby sitting charges across the border, getting drunk and getting into trouble with the border patrol. And the worse part is the makers are going all over the place, praising themselves and probably thinking they are intercultural dialogue.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
Daved.Jan 28, 2007
Best picture? This iS a movie that can be used as a classroom example of story telling gone wrong. If one watched the nightly news as opposed to seeing the picture, one would find more clarity of events than the amatuerish writing that dooms Best picture? This iS a movie that can be used as a classroom example of story telling gone wrong. If one watched the nightly news as opposed to seeing the picture, one would find more clarity of events than the amatuerish writing that dooms this movie. The performances are good and the cineamatography is fair, but again the story is truly pathetic. Reading professional reviews, makes me wonder if the cast and the melodrama led the critics astray. It's a pointless exercise that really never draws us in to care very much about the characters. It's too bewildering and slow to give much credence to anything that happens in it. A story needs to be more than merely a slice of life, it has to have a distinct purpose. The movie Crash, for instance showed how we tend to judge each other based on our prejudices. This movie doesn't come close to telling a story with meaning.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
RuthS.Jan 27, 2007
This film was atrocious. I felt like i had wasted 3 hours of my life. All i ask is what's 'put it away' in sign language?! What was the significance of her nudeness? The scence of the 8yr old child mastubating was unearhtily This film was atrocious. I felt like i had wasted 3 hours of my life. All i ask is what's 'put it away' in sign language?! What was the significance of her nudeness? The scence of the 8yr old child mastubating was unearhtily disturbing and totally unrelated. Who thinks of these things? And to think it's up for 7 awards?! Who's paying these critcs to sit around churning out pompus reviews?! Honestly i could do a better job. Did they even watch the film? mildly entertining to tlk about afterwards but i think we'd all sleep easier tonight if we hadn't seen the hairy monster.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
SaraM.Jan 27, 2007
There's soimething in a good film isn't there - like it doesn't matter how bleak the matter at hand, how searing the tragedy, how painful the conclusions you are forced to draw, a great film makes you feel better going out There's soimething in a good film isn't there - like it doesn't matter how bleak the matter at hand, how searing the tragedy, how painful the conclusions you are forced to draw, a great film makes you feel better going out than you did going in. Gripping, important, interesting. Go see.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
ReidF.Jan 27, 2007
I struggled with this film because conceptually, it is a very good idea, and it contains moments of pure brilliance. Unfortunately, it is about an hour too long and could seriously have benefited from a substantial edit. It ended up on this I struggled with this film because conceptually, it is a very good idea, and it contains moments of pure brilliance. Unfortunately, it is about an hour too long and could seriously have benefited from a substantial edit. It ended up on this list because months later, there are scenes about which I can… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
ErnestoT.Jan 27, 2007
Child sexploitation and abuse, racsim and stereortyping, malady-drama, unnecessary length and structure for an unpleasant experience--THIS MOVIE HAS EVERYTHING! The problem for the name star leads was that there was no character, they had to Child sexploitation and abuse, racsim and stereortyping, malady-drama, unnecessary length and structure for an unpleasant experience--THIS MOVIE HAS EVERYTHING! The problem for the name star leads was that there was no character, they had to play situations. Impressive cinema for folk who haven't been to those countries or had much life experience.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
AndrewM.Jan 26, 2007
The majority of the film is simply uninteresting. The storyline set in Tokyo is the most impressive mostly because of amazing cinematography but the others just seem to lack fundamental excitement.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
GabrielaI.Jan 25, 2007
Amazing stories. Gonzalez Iññaritu at his best. Adriana Barraza, wonderful. Touching movie.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
RJM.Jan 25, 2007
As the old saying goes, "if you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit". Excellently made tedium. Performance by the Mexican nanny a standout. Ms. Blanchett is given a role which offers her nothing more As the old saying goes, "if you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit". Excellently made tedium. Performance by the Mexican nanny a standout. Ms. Blanchett is given a role which offers her nothing more than to pretend to suffer for the duration of her screen time. Mr. Pitt gets to pretend he's enraged and concerned. Their most compassionate moment is when he helps her urinate into a pan. The filmmakers have very vast concepts built of very small, highly inflated subject matter.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
BradleyP.Jan 23, 2007
The story line, the acting, the interconnection of each story, the 2 hour plus the movies lasted. I get it
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
DaveCJan 23, 2007
Why don't I film myself brushing my teeth for 2.5 hours. Seeing how many awards this pointless crap won. Damn, I should win em all!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
CheaJan 23, 2007
Babel maybe the most predictable movie to win a golden globe, Alejandro González Iñárritu idea that we are all connected in some way no matter how small
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
JamesD.Jan 23, 2007
Just got back from seeing it and I can honestly say it was the most tedious 2.5 hrs I have spent in quite some time. At times it looks like it might pick up the pace, but it never does. It seems like the film equivalent of a really badly put Just got back from seeing it and I can honestly say it was the most tedious 2.5 hrs I have spent in quite some time. At times it looks like it might pick up the pace, but it never does. It seems like the film equivalent of a really badly put together essay - all of the stories only very tenuously linked, with no strong structure or progression in ideas, as if he had 3 completely different "stories" (it's hard to even call them that) and had to rush to find some excuse to stitch them together. It's hard to empathise with anyone in the film other than the deaf japanese girl, and that's only because of her exceptionally unfortunate circumstances. I don't think I was the only one getting restless in the cinema either, after an hour half the audience were shifting around in their seats and at least 2 people I saw walked out before the end. It's a shame, as Amores Perres was great, in my opinion.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
MalcolmJan 23, 2007
Outstanding. This film is brave and ambitious, and for that alone it deserves to be applauded. The fact that it succeeds on (nearly) every level means that this film is more than worthy of the awards/nominations that have been bestowed upon Outstanding. This film is brave and ambitious, and for that alone it deserves to be applauded. The fact that it succeeds on (nearly) every level means that this film is more than worthy of the awards/nominations that have been bestowed upon it. It is bleak, yes. The links between the stories are vague to say the least, true (but, come on, it isn't meant to Lock Stock, with all the storys interwining neatly with a nice little bow on top...it's far more REALISTIC than that). But these are the only two points you could justifiably criticise the film on. The negative reviews of the illeducated, impatient and those who only went to see it 'cos Brad was in it (for around 15 minutes...) should be ignored because this film is powerful, dramatic and MOVES you. Both Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza fully deserve their Academy award nominations, especially Kikuchi. Her debut performance as a troubled and confused deaf-mute teen are truly astonishing. The 'club scene' in her sub-plot is one of the highlights of any film of 2006. Go to see it with an open mind and you will be amazing. Fantastic.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
MigueG.Jan 23, 2007
C'est la vie ... Brillant and realistic portrayal of some human misunderstandings and injustices. Is it Fate? And sad, it left me quite saddened.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
JonJan 22, 2007
What? This is the same guy that made Amores Perros and 21 Grams, right? The difference is, those movies made sense and were put together for a reason. Two out of three storylines that work, yet are interrupted by one that makes absolutely no What? This is the same guy that made Amores Perros and 21 Grams, right? The difference is, those movies made sense and were put together for a reason. Two out of three storylines that work, yet are interrupted by one that makes absolutely no sense, that's sounds more like a recipe for Ba-Balogna.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
SameerH.Jan 22, 2007
An excellent movie which does not solve the problems of the world but does highlight the fact that they certainly do exist! The best thing was that although people think lowly of one another, in times of need - people from different An excellent movie which does not solve the problems of the world but does highlight the fact that they certainly do exist! The best thing was that although people think lowly of one another, in times of need - people from different backgrounds and cultures unite and help one another. That, I feel was the underlying message of the film. The scene where Brad Pitt offers the Moroccan some money for his help and he refuses it was powerful because it showed that even a poor man helped because of humanity and for no other reason. Good effort but maybe a bit too long and a bad ending.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
AdamR.Jan 22, 2007
Why did I see this movie? did I learn something about the fact that some discarded inanimate object from my life at some point then entered the life of another... and we became one? I would have preferred more interesting paralells be drawn Why did I see this movie? did I learn something about the fact that some discarded inanimate object from my life at some point then entered the life of another... and we became one? I would have preferred more interesting paralells be drawn between the characters and their connections to each other, rather than the seemingly..."How far out of our way can we go to just to prove that we can pull one thread thru an entire 2 and a half hour movie?" (i'd say go see 'The Constant Gardener' for more genuine emotions based on plausible interactions with complex world.)… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
DavidG.Jan 22, 2007
The average movie watcher will think this is the biggest piece of crap ever put on the screen. Leave it at the Cannes festival and give us some real entertainment. Everyone just sat in the theatre afterward wandering what just happened and The average movie watcher will think this is the biggest piece of crap ever put on the screen. Leave it at the Cannes festival and give us some real entertainment. Everyone just sat in the theatre afterward wandering what just happened and feeling like they had the life sucked out of them. Stupid piece of anti-american political propaganda witten and produced by a foreign person and supported by the Hollwood crowd which makes them feel better about themselves because in real life they live such a self indulgent life. Cate Blanchette gets nominated for playing half dead for 10 minutes. Once again, if it wins Oscars and Golden Globes-be very weary.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
JuanM.Jan 22, 2007
I agree that the acting was good, the scenery, locations and photography fantastic. Nevertheless after the final scene one feels empty, hopeless and tired of the suffering and pain shown. A very negative and pessimistic movie.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
SteveS.Jan 21, 2007
A movie that lingers in the heart long after it has ended, but which ultimately gives impression of being far too coincidentally dazzling. There's a growing sense of "But wait: There's more" as the movie rushes towards its A movie that lingers in the heart long after it has ended, but which ultimately gives impression of being far too coincidentally dazzling. There's a growing sense of "But wait: There's more" as the movie rushes towards its seemingly drawn out conclusions. I would have rated it higher if at least one of the American kids had died in the desert, just as one of the Moroccan kids had. The stupidity of the nanny voluntarily putting the 2 kids and herself in the car driven by her clearly intoxicated nephew led me to lose all sympathy for her later plight. The message of the film seems to be that, while Americans suffer when they venture away from their homeland, its non-Americans who truly pay the price. Thank God, I suppose, that the naked Japanse girl never gave ghouls the satisfaction of jumping off the balcony. Somebody needs to help this young girl get her hugs and cuddles without needing to take off her panties!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
AndyJan 20, 2007
A movie worth seeing but one I could probably never watch again. The acting is superb and the stories are only slightly flawed but the whole tone of the movie is not something I wanted to sit through for nearly 2.5 hours.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
PatriciaS.Jan 20, 2007
I think this movie was a bit too intelligent for the average viewer, hence the inanity of many of their dismaying and incredibly illiterate comments: pearls before swine. it is a tour de force in every way. superb.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
SteveA.Jan 19, 2007
This movie had some very good acting. The movie had a realistic feel to it, if not gritty and ugly. However, the movie felt long, and it was hard to watch that much suffering. The movie just seemed to get more miserable and hopeless as it This movie had some very good acting. The movie had a realistic feel to it, if not gritty and ugly. However, the movie felt long, and it was hard to watch that much suffering. The movie just seemed to get more miserable and hopeless as it progressed...spoiler, spoiler...until, at the end, you had one child being killed, two more children barely clinging to life, another one begging to die, and one stripping naked in an attempt to be loved. Pretty harrowing stuff, but extremely well made, nonetheless.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
ScottS.Jan 18, 2007
Borebel. Pretentious and ultimately meaningless.Time for Inarritu to move on to a new concept. That said, Barraza and Kikuchi are terrific.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
KymD.Jan 16, 2007
It was derivative. You would have thought it was first movie of all time to use interlinked narratives. The story line was predictable--the only surpise I got was that the Japanese chick did not fly off the balcony. It was laboured--why show It was derivative. You would have thought it was first movie of all time to use interlinked narratives. The story line was predictable--the only surpise I got was that the Japanese chick did not fly off the balcony. It was laboured--why show us endless footage of the chopper flying the wonded Blanchett to hospital? As soon as the juiced up mexican nephew decided to drive back to the states you knew there would be tears before bed time. This was a crock. Critics and the public have been sucked in big time. The only analogy you can safely make with this and the real Babel is the collaborators on this movie clearly never spoke the same language or were ever on the same page--much like those who tried to build the tower to heaven. Save your money.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
JonathanH.Jan 16, 2007
The only plausible reason why anyone would give this piece of nonsense, this succession of non sequitur after non sequitur, more than 0 points would be if they worked for the film maker, the studio and the actor's agents. An irritation The only plausible reason why anyone would give this piece of nonsense, this succession of non sequitur after non sequitur, more than 0 points would be if they worked for the film maker, the studio and the actor's agents. An irritation without compare from the first minute to last, or at the very least up to the moment the border guard asks the Mexican nanny, who has just emerged utterly exhausted from the desert, to put her hands behind her back so he can handcuff her. This was when I finally walked out.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
ElliottM.Jan 15, 2007
Babel is an artfully made, annoyingly overreaching melodramatic mess. The plotline involving the Japanese girl was the most interesting and heartfelt, though it felt completely tangential considering the frailty of the narrative thread Babel is an artfully made, annoyingly overreaching melodramatic mess. The plotline involving the Japanese girl was the most interesting and heartfelt, though it felt completely tangential considering the frailty of the narrative thread connecting her to the rest of the movie. The rest of the movie was just contrived -- parts of it were so shameful and opportunistic I almost laughed.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
SteveJan 15, 2007
Alejandro's weakest of the trilogy, but still a joy to watch great actors in an international drama.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
NadieJan 15, 2007
Gonzalez Inarritu needs to understand that the format is not a style. The third movie that breaks three stories into pieces and starts with the ending (and I know it
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
GaryT.Jan 14, 2007
Brilliant editing and soundtrack. At times extremely moving, I read this as a strong meditation on compassion and interdependence. Annoyingly American-centric, no doubt for marketing reasons.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
DougJan 14, 2007
Manipulative and without substance. A waste of effort for all involved - including the viewer.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
SoniaG.Jan 13, 2007
All the ingredients but lacked the punch.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
AlainA.Jan 11, 2007
Cate Blanchett is great but this not a surprise. The surprise is Brad Pitt. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu`s films is the bes in the year
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
JeffS.Jan 10, 2007
Brilliant film that selects 4 story-threads, playing them out to demonstrate truths about communication, time and the human condition.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
FrankO.Jan 7, 2007
Very well acted, story arc similar to last year's Crash; interweaving story lines involving three different cultures. Felt long but changing story locations made it move along.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
RichardG.Jan 7, 2007
Tense and unforgettable movie. Brilliant in all aspects except the too neat ending(s).
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
MarkB.Jan 5, 2007
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros and 21 Grams, their best film) reunite again for this exceedingly well-made but punishing tower of human misery, misunderstanding and the consequences of making Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros and 21 Grams, their best film) reunite again for this exceedingly well-made but punishing tower of human misery, misunderstanding and the consequences of making mind-roastingly terrible mistakes that, like Vittorio DeSica's neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief, is a film I'm glad I saw once...and ONLY once. Two Moroccan kids use a gun recently received as a gift in the worst possible way; parties directly or indirectly involved in the fallout include a U.S. couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) suddenly stranded in unfamiliar surroundings as they fight for life, a domestic (Adrianna Barraza) working here who hits an immigration wall when she decides to attend a wedding, and--most obscurely--a Japanese businessman and his deaf, seriously sexually disturbed teen daughter. Like their other films (and Paul Haggis' Crash) this deals heavily with the capriciousness of both fate and human error; while reaching the perhaps inevitable conclusion that fortune often favors those who are already quite well-off (and American), it commendably doesn't try to score easy points with facile U.S.-bashing. Equally notable is that, in keeping with its theme of people of many nations inextricably connected to one another by human experience but tragically separated by their inability to understand each other (which is actually an inversion of the Biblical account of the Tower of Babel, in which God punishes the nations of the world for attempting to form a common language and government, leaving Him out in the proceedings) Babel doesn't create any real villains. There are no Iagos, Medeas or Stanley Kowalskis here acting out of pure evil, cruelty or psychopathic self-interest; at worst, there are just people in authority doing their jobs the best they can. I hope the Motion Picture academy of Arts and Sciences sees fit to look beyond the usual corral of science fiction/ action epics that usual fill the editing and sound effects categories and honor this film there: Inarritu's work with sound, especially in a sequence where the deaf girl enters a disco, is truly phenomenal. However, despite all of Babel's excellences, its worldview is so unrelentingly bleak, and most of its stories play out that way, that I left the theater wanting as desperately to watch a musical or romantic comedy to cleanse the old palate as I'm beginning to think that Inarritu and Arriaga truly need to make one. Unfortunately, given their output at this point, I'm also beginning to suspect that I'M more capable of making one than they'll ever be!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
JoshCJan 4, 2007
I don't want to be dragged into a Babel beat-down, but why not? With all the enthusiasm being dumped on it, the film can withstand a kick to the crotch, particularly since, as far as I can tell, it has no balls. A good friend of mine I don't want to be dragged into a Babel beat-down, but why not? With all the enthusiasm being dumped on it, the film can withstand a kick to the crotch, particularly since, as far as I can tell, it has no balls. A good friend of mine once wrote that movies should never be good for you. And that is what nags me about Babel. Unlike anything in David Lynch's Inland Empire or Melville's Army of Shadows or whoever else you would accuse of pretentiously aestheticizing anomie or pleasurelessness, Iñárritu seems to want his movies to be good for you on those same terms. Babel demands to be taken as more than a mere movie, as more than an entertainment. It's a big vitamin you can get at Whole Foods, near the yoga mats. At some point on their getaway from their parental misery (who escapes from the blues to that part of Morocco, anyway?), Cate Blanchett asks Brad Pitt why they're here. And all you can think is, you poor Hollywood actress, you're in Babel where you and some other less famous people will be written into one massive implausibility after the next. But you'll all suffer for a worthy cause: the audience's enlightenment. Cue the harps. This is a movie that people leave under the impression that something amazing has happened, that they've seen a high cinematic work, when all they've gotten is a flu shot. Last year, there were many more emotionally chilling manipulations that pull their strings without all the noise and blubbering and trashy entrapment of its characters. I mean, really, having the maid, good as Adriana Barraza is in the movie, doing all that grotesque desert drifting? The movie is shameless. The Mexican maid is devoted to her employers and their children at the expense of every ounce of her common sense. She has to be stupid and suffer so we can see/feel/know the full extent of how terribly illegal immigrants are treated. Barraza dragged to every station of the sociopolitical cross. Unclean! These are the medicine movies people are going for… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
KathleenL.Jan 4, 2007
Too fractured and predictable--seen it before, derivative, morally murky.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
JSJan 2, 2007
Haunting and in some ways profound. I found its somber tone and deliberate pace refreshing.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
KhayrA.Jan 1, 2007
Thought provoking film about the things we take for granted and the mistakes in judgement we make, especially those attributed to loss and/or gain.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
LindaL.Dec 31, 2006
From the "wrenching complexity" school of filmmaking, and don't forget that this director got a more incredible performance from Sean Penn in "21 Grams" than his highly praised turn in "Mystic River." This movie does not hang together From the "wrenching complexity" school of filmmaking, and don't forget that this director got a more incredible performance from Sean Penn in "21 Grams" than his highly praised turn in "Mystic River." This movie does not hang together as well, but the performances are engrossing -- the one by the Mexican actress most of all, I would say.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
StephenB.Dec 30, 2006
Complete crap! Don't waste your money - unless you're into long drawn out depressing movies!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
kobij.Dec 29, 2006
A great looking movie with a terrible script. Banal message, primitive co incentental hotel de Paris type of a drivel. Give this taleted dirctor a script, for God sake.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
andrewDec 28, 2006
Its a great film!! the performance of brad pitt was very impressive!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
JimC.Dec 27, 2006
Superb acting wedded to a fragmented plot that dragged on for me. One of the most overrated films of 2006.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
TonyA.Dec 27, 2006
Great depth and acting. Moving. Great performance from Kikuchi as Chieko
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
EnriqueDec 26, 2006
Not Inarritu's best, but still great cinema with an intriguing, thought provoking story line. Great acting by the whole cast.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
MangG.Dec 22, 2006
Perhaps the most cosmically overrated film of the year.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
BillGDec 20, 2006
A phenomenal intriguing film with amazing depth. Acting all around is first rate with Brad Pitt giving an and very credible performance. A film you have to see twice to truly appreciate it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
SandyS.Dec 19, 2006
A great film; highly impactful with terrific performances by Pitt and the Japanese teenager. A very clever blending of disparate lives with a common thread that impacts all. Leaves one with a powerful after taste and tightening of the A great film; highly impactful with terrific performances by Pitt and the Japanese teenager. A very clever blending of disparate lives with a common thread that impacts all. Leaves one with a powerful after taste and tightening of the stomach - excellent.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
ChristineW.Dec 18, 2006
Four unforgettable famliles set in four different countries, all tied together by one rifle. Interesting how it is the poorest families who suffer the greatest casualties within the length of the movie. Masterful storytelling. Authentic Four unforgettable famliles set in four different countries, all tied together by one rifle. Interesting how it is the poorest families who suffer the greatest casualties within the length of the movie. Masterful storytelling. Authentic depiction of the current societal issues in each location... Watchers may be surprised by the depiction of youth in Japan, Yet this is so accurate a portrayal of a section of young society in Asia today. Brutally honest.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
VicGDec 17, 2006
Breathtaking cinematography. Claustrophobic. Makes you want to scream 'just shut up and listen'.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
BrianBallDec 16, 2006
I give this a movie a 2 becuase it did seem well filmed However what it was filming is still a mystery how this movie was ever made. It made me feel like i was in a round about for 2 hours the scenery may change but it all seemed the sameI give this a movie a 2 becuase it did seem well filmed However what it was filming is still a mystery how this movie was ever made. It made me feel like i was in a round about for 2 hours the scenery may change but it all seemed the same and you never felt like you went anywhere. Where was the Brad pitt I know and appreciate havent seen him since 7 now that was a good film… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
LouisW.Dec 15, 2006
Overproduced, manipulative and pointless movie about stupid, unsympathetic people making horrible choices. Outside of Beverly Hills, no one could possibly care about these characters or sit through this endless sham of a spectacle without Overproduced, manipulative and pointless movie about stupid, unsympathetic people making horrible choices. Outside of Beverly Hills, no one could possibly care about these characters or sit through this endless sham of a spectacle without falling asleep.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
BilB.Dec 10, 2006
Very powerful, artfully shot, excellently acted, genuine, and tragic. I LOVED IT.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
IsraelH.Dec 10, 2006
This is a great film. Gonzalez Inarritu is one of the best directors nowadays. Music, acting (Pitt and Barraza shine), script and cinematography are superb. Deserves 2 or 3 oscars.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
JasonS.Dec 9, 2006
They tried for a Pulp Fiction type format and failed miserably. The movie has no plot, no conclusion, no redeeming qualities.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
TracyB.Dec 9, 2006
Beautiful film- of all of his work I would rate this the lowest, yet it is still heads above most director's work.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
MallinaC.Dec 9, 2006
This was one of the best movies I've ever seen, maybe even THE best. It portrays how different yet the same every nation and everone in the world is; everyone deals with suffering and intense happiness. I also liked how a gun was what This was one of the best movies I've ever seen, maybe even THE best. It portrays how different yet the same every nation and everone in the world is; everyone deals with suffering and intense happiness. I also liked how a gun was what made everyone's lives so chaotic and unhappy. This movie just portrays people worldwide very honestly, something that should be done more often.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
NickF.Dec 6, 2006
A handful of unconvincing plotlines interconnected in the most contrived manner. Breath-takingly undeveloped characters suffer various traumas as a result of idiotic judgment on their part, poor psychology on the part of the screenwriter, or A handful of unconvincing plotlines interconnected in the most contrived manner. Breath-takingly undeveloped characters suffer various traumas as a result of idiotic judgment on their part, poor psychology on the part of the screenwriter, or his overuse of deus ex machina (you might call it 'chance' or 'accident', but dramturgically, the principle remains the same). Exactly what do the director and his screenwriter have to say on the subject of globalization, intercultural (mis)communication, tradition vs. modernity or whatever else they happen to stumble upon in this broadly, too broadly, conceived project? For all the lavish/frantic cinematography, I could not understand what one of these people were put on screen for, yet I could smell the semen spilt over the editing console. Highly missable.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
LennyMDec 4, 2006
People must really like the exploitation of the young girl. That is exactly what that part of the movie is meant to be. And the proof is in the way not many people see it for what it is. Because we are so used to it and so enamored ofPeople must really like the exploitation of the young girl. That is exactly what that part of the movie is meant to be. And the proof is in the way not many people see it for what it is. Because we are so used to it and so enamored of sexual provocation that we grovel in it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
LesleyYDec 3, 2006
This film was absolute crap. The story, while interesting, was told in a medium that is now becoming quite cliché, and to be honest, didn't grab me at all. In addition, the entire nanny storyline was ridiculous to Requiem for a This film was absolute crap. The story, while interesting, was told in a medium that is now becoming quite cliché, and to be honest, didn't grab me at all. In addition, the entire nanny storyline was ridiculous to Requiem for a Dream proportions; I kept expecting the nanny, while running through the desert, to start screaming about her red dress. I was actually giving this film a chance until [***SPOILERS***] Santiago left her and the kids in the desert. That was where I was pretty much done. Not only did I not give a toss about Mr. and Mrs. America, as their characters had no depth whatsoever, but the nanny storyline lost me when it got absurd, and the Japanese storyline - well, that deserves its own paragraph. The Japanese storyline was the only storyline that I could be bothered to care about; the characters were developed, the story was interesting. The problem with it was that it had positively nothing, and I do mean nothing, to do with the rest of the theme of connections. [***SPOILERS***] They had to concoct some half-baked explanation about the dad owning the gun at one point to even make it have any relevance, and we weren't even made aware of that until later in the film, whereas we knew the connection of the other two storylines. Major consistency problem there. I firmly believe that this storyline existed to redeem the movie, because without it, I might have just walked out. And I never walk out on a film. I had been looking forward to Babel, and I was very, very disappointed with the end result. The Japanese storyline was great, but out of place, and Gael Garcia Bernal was amazing in the four scenes that he was in. Other than that? I could have spent my two and a half hours doing something that I cared a lot more about.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
TimMDec 3, 2006
This movie was awesome. i am definitely getting this on dvd. to maria, who says the themes are "illegal immigration, disablities, racial hatred, awakening sexuality, Americans & the rest of the world, parents & children just to mention a This movie was awesome. i am definitely getting this on dvd. to maria, who says the themes are "illegal immigration, disablities, racial hatred, awakening sexuality, Americans & the rest of the world, parents & children just to mention a few" no, you're wrong. you are not looking at the big picture. this film is about communication and lack thereof, spanning all social levels. really really freakin good movie. this movie is different than 21 grams and amores perros, and i loved every second of all 3, tho 21 grams was the least ambitious in my opinion.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
SethH.Dec 2, 2006
Babel attempts to be the next syriana mixed with city of god, yet fails. The story lines are not nearly connected enough. The story about the girl in Tokyo has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. All the movie did was depress me and Babel attempts to be the next syriana mixed with city of god, yet fails. The story lines are not nearly connected enough. The story about the girl in Tokyo has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. All the movie did was depress me and make me wonder why I didn't see the departed again instead of wasting my 10 new york dollars.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
sarahk.Dec 2, 2006
Too drawn out - the length of the movie didn't add to developing the story/stories.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
AdamF.Nov 30, 2006
Fantastic flick. Go see it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
NathanH.Nov 30, 2006
Artistic Crap. Everyone gets screwed except the Americans. The movie makes no point except to say that the White Americans always end up okay. Great.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
CuculizaONov 29, 2006
Gonzalez Inarritu is a great, talented director, but his ambition to make an emotional "epic" bombs. Its way too long and the characters are poorly developed, by the middle of the film I couldn't have cared if all of them died. The Gonzalez Inarritu is a great, talented director, but his ambition to make an emotional "epic" bombs. Its way too long and the characters are poorly developed, by the middle of the film I couldn't have cared if all of them died. The Mexican part almost felt like a joke, the Morrocan one was ok but felt flat. Still, the Japan part was masterly done. And by the way, enough is enough with interlocking stories in a movie. We've seen it all already.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
GinaCNov 28, 2006
This movie could have been a lot better and I'm sorry I can't compare it to "Crash". That movie was great. I don't see the relevance in showing a young boy pleasing himself and a young girl showing us her vagina and her naked This movie could have been a lot better and I'm sorry I can't compare it to "Crash". That movie was great. I don't see the relevance in showing a young boy pleasing himself and a young girl showing us her vagina and her naked body. The movie didn't need that to make its point. It was kinda gross and unneeded. I'm not sure how many normal adults wanted to see children in that matter. They should have left that out and kept to the storyline.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
LucyNov 27, 2006
This movie overall was good. I think Brad did a great job in it compared to some movies he has done. Most of the stories had a good way of coming together at the end but it left me hanging at the end and that made me not like it so much.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
AurLNov 27, 2006
So depressing, you have to wonder what therapy the director and authors need. Even the talented cast are immaterial as you watch the painful tale that was already completely revealed in the trailer. No purpose, no message, just misery.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
MariaNov 27, 2006
Boring. Arbitrary. Irrelevant. Characters were so shallow that I felt absolutely no sympathy for any of them. The director did not succeed to awake any emotion in me except utter boredom. Some Ok scenes - Tokyo nightclub for eg - but the Boring. Arbitrary. Irrelevant. Characters were so shallow that I felt absolutely no sympathy for any of them. The director did not succeed to awake any emotion in me except utter boredom. Some Ok scenes - Tokyo nightclub for eg - but the stories were so random and their connections to each other were pointless. Any of the stories could have been taken away without losing anything. It would have been indeed advisable to take away something - instead of stuffing into 2,5 hours (although inarguable one of the longest 2,5 hours of my life) every theme possible; illegal immigration, disablities, racial hatred, awakening sexuality, Americans & the rest of the world, parents & children just to mention a few. Any of these stories containing plenty of issues for one movie. More is not better - it just makes everything arbitrary and shallow. In the end I felt absolutely nothing for any of the characters, they were all equally boring. My friend - whom I went to see the movie with - works for children's rights, and was actually quite relieved to see one of the arab boys killed as that meant that that particular story line would be closed. That should say something about the film.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
BandANov 26, 2006
This movie really really sucks. Really 3 subplots tied together with a measly relation so they can tell 3 different stories and call it a movie. Way too long and Brads acting suck, a face to draw people to see a crap movie.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
BevMNov 26, 2006
The scenery was beautiful and fascinating, but the story line left me empty, especially the Japanese segment. At the end, there were no subtitles for that story ... what was the point? It the point was to frustrate me, it could have been The scenery was beautiful and fascinating, but the story line left me empty, especially the Japanese segment. At the end, there were no subtitles for that story ... what was the point? It the point was to frustrate me, it could have been done in much less time.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
LarryS.Nov 26, 2006
Outstanding film in all respects. Not for your average North American viewer. If you appreciated 21 Grams go see this film. If you enjoy Adam Sandler movies stay away. A movie with a lot to say. Many outstanding acting performances. Outstanding film in all respects. Not for your average North American viewer. If you appreciated 21 Grams go see this film. If you enjoy Adam Sandler movies stay away. A movie with a lot to say. Many outstanding acting performances. Don't be mislead by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. They are there in supporting roles.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
TimH.Nov 26, 2006
Most overrated film of the year. Heavyhanded and punishingly brutal, the message of the film is obvious and viewers feel like they're beaten over the head with a hammer. We get it already - we have problems communicating.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
ShirleyC.Nov 25, 2006
This was the most terrible movie. Over the top dramatic. Made me physically ill because of the confused, babeling stories. Good character development but badly edited.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
CalebC.Nov 25, 2006
One of the Best Films I've ever seen. Right up there with American Beauty, Crash and Magnolia.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
SusanM.Nov 25, 2006
I loved it. We are living truly in Babel, we cant understand what the other want, even if they say it in our own language. Makes you get involved the whole time you watch it and react to various events. After the movie I still felt attached I loved it. We are living truly in Babel, we cant understand what the other want, even if they say it in our own language. Makes you get involved the whole time you watch it and react to various events. After the movie I still felt attached to the story. Great Movie.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
RobertV.Nov 25, 2006
I haven't seen a film that moved me as much and impressed me with its use of the medium to visually tell a story of such epic proportion as to how one single choice, mistake or moment in time can affect the lives of so many people I haven't seen a film that moved me as much and impressed me with its use of the medium to visually tell a story of such epic proportion as to how one single choice, mistake or moment in time can affect the lives of so many people around our world simultaneously. At times, its window on our world - in all of its complexity as well as its simplicity, its frailty and strength, its poverty and wealth, power and hoplessness, brutality and kindness - Was so realistic I almost forgot I was watching a movie. I found myself riveted to the screen, on the edge of my seat, actually praying that each of the many developed characters stories would somehow work out ok. In all of the tragedy it communicates about our liability to communicate, tolerate, accept, allow and embrace each others crises - Which it does masterfully and visually without beating you over the head - And it took me until the actual rolling of the credits and the dedication to children - to realize that the movie was actually much more about hope than despair. I also think that people without children will not relate even remotely as powerfully to this film as those with. I haven't left a theatre in a long time considering how much my own choices can affect so many. A powerful, masterful and visually stunning piece of film as art.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
AJC.Nov 24, 2006
This movie is far from brilliant. Sure the cinematography is top-notch, and the script is fine. The problem is the story. Aside from the Japanese storyline, the plot is an almost unbelievable heap of misery. Are we supposed to believe that This movie is far from brilliant. Sure the cinematography is top-notch, and the script is fine. The problem is the story. Aside from the Japanese storyline, the plot is an almost unbelievable heap of misery. Are we supposed to believe that the only thing that binds us together as humans are extreme tribulations -- for goodness sake, 4 children almost killed in the movie! The Japan story was subtle and moving, and it redeemed the rest of the movie, which was simply outrageous and unnerving. It's grim without being insightful, and it only feigns hope in the end. The message: the world is a dreadful place, let's all band together on that.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
JS.Nov 23, 2006
Did not like this movie at all. Too chopped up, lack luster plot. 3 terrible movies in one that intertwine in a useless plot.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
TakK.Nov 23, 2006
Unclear or at least weak connections between 3 stories of movies in terms of the theme of the whole.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
ZiboscoZ.Nov 22, 2006
My wife asked me to leave several times and I would have...but I paid 20.00 to try and figure out what the hell the director Gonzales was smoking. What ever happened to the John Ford movies? No wonder Hollywood is losing us.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
JeffSNov 20, 2006
Probably the best and most inspiring dramatic film I've seen all year. A must see!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
sandyNov 20, 2006
What a load of dog poop!! A complete waste of $10. I wanted to see the latest Brad Pitt movie but 15 minutes into it was begging to leave. I ended up suffering through the entire movie, but hated every second of it. When Cate What a load of dog poop!! A complete waste of $10. I wanted to see the latest Brad Pitt movie but 15 minutes into it was begging to leave. I ended up suffering through the entire movie, but hated every second of it. When Cate Blanchett's character was shot I prayed real hard she would die so the movie would end quickly. While I applaud the effort that went into making the movie, it just didn't work. The chopping and changing of scenery, country and subject was annoying. The characters all ended up being whiny, annoying and spoiled to varying levels. The kids were about the only "real" characters. They did what all kids would have typically done in their situation, played, cried or slept. Not much to work on there. I would love to see Brad Pitt in more pithy and less sex god roles, I would hate to see him in anything else like this garbage again.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
LouR.Nov 19, 2006
Though I wondered through about half of this film where it was going, it was worth the wait. The three subplots kept me shoving the popcorn in my mouth as each of the scenes completely sucked me into the its intense emotion as if I was Though I wondered through about half of this film where it was going, it was worth the wait. The three subplots kept me shoving the popcorn in my mouth as each of the scenes completely sucked me into the its intense emotion as if I was experiencing it myself. I haven't walked out af a theater so satisfied in a long time...and I see alot of movies.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
AnonymousNov 19, 2006
Spoilers follow. PLEASE READ if you're having trouble figuring out what this movie's actually about, and even if you think you know, you should try this interpretation on for size.

People judging this movie for its feasibilitySpoilers follow. PLEASE READ if you're having trouble figuring out what this movie's actually about, and even if you think you know, you should try this interpretation on for size.

People judging this movie for its feasibility or realism (this seems to be everyone) have missed the point completely. Although set in real cities with real (if, to some filmgoers, unsatisfying) characters and with many handheld ("realistic") shots, this is a film that operates on a symbolic level to portray how the Western world is poisoning the so-called "Global Village". Think about the fact that the first shot is a man bringing a rifle to an "uncivilized" home. Think, then, about the effects that rifle has on their once peaceful lives. Think about the Japanese man with animal heads mounted in his home (is there a better symbol of imperialism?) that gave this man the rifle in the first place. Think about the bus full of Western tourists so paranoid about the "terrorists" they clearly have equipped. Think about Cate Blanchett being airlifted out of the country like it were Vietnam and the broadcast saying the American's finally have the "happy ending" they so proudly proclaimed when they dethroned Saddam in "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Think about the way the Mexican woman is given a job in the United States, but then treated like slime even after dedicating her life to becoming a contributing member of its society. Think about the deaf girl who begs for her body to be exploited like the sexual objects that fill every sort of media outlet in Western society. Think about how she stands naked and ashamed in the metropolis of the final shot: a human in her natural form is entirely out of place in any fully Westernized place.

This is not some dramatic sapfest about how we should all learn to get along (see "Crash"). This is a poetic portrayal of how the West is bringing the world to its knees.

This would have been the most important film of this year if so many critics and viewers hadn't missed the message entirely.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
MariaWNov 19, 2006
Moving.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
SamanthaJ.Nov 19, 2006
I was truly disturbed by this movie. I thought it was going to inspire me and make me see how communication is important but it was gross and perverted. And if you like Brad Pitt he's not even in it that much and he isn't that good I was truly disturbed by this movie. I thought it was going to inspire me and make me see how communication is important but it was gross and perverted. And if you like Brad Pitt he's not even in it that much and he isn't that good in this movie either. Seriously a waste of time!!!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
CarlM.Nov 19, 2006
Absolutely gut wrenching. I left the theater more exhausted than a 500 mile bicycle race. Some great perfomances however. Particularly by Adriana Barraza.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
AudreyF.Nov 19, 2006
Gripping but ultimately meaningless. This is essentially about poor people making poor decisions and the consequences.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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